1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet bowl devices and more particularly to an auxiliary water flow structure for producing a laminar flow sheet on the bowl surface that is rendered operative in conjunction with the articulation of the toilet seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a typical household there are few physical structures that accommodate or distinguish between the male and female anatomy of the occupants, the accommodation of the anatomical differences being mostly focused in the structure of a toilet. To resolve this differentiation in use the typical household toilet includes a pivoted seat that is often manually raised by the male as a courtesy to those that may follow, thus moving the seat surface away from any incident backsplash. The articulated seat, however, is then frequently left in its upright position and this inattention, itself, often rises to the level of a constant irritant and a source of dispute.
In the past various devices have been proposed which in one way or another lower the toilet seat after a time period expires after it has been raised. Examples of such devices can be found in the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,744 to Paananen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,949 to Golgi, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,454 to Birchall; and others. While suitable in resolving these pervasive inattention disputes, and thus for the purposes intended, these teachings do not address, nor do they contemplate, the other subsidiary household disputes about those parts of the backsplash that fall outside the confines of the toilet bowl. Simply, the statistical distribution of splashing during the course of male urination extends beyond the toilet bowl periphery and the articulated seat courtesy therefore attends to only one part of the problem. Also needed are techniques and devices that modify backsplash kinematics to the confines of the bowl. Devices that concurrently control the backsplash trajectory while also automatically attending to the seat lowering courtesy are therefore extensively desired and it is one such device that is disclosed herein.
Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to provide a seat lowering mechanism effected by a water stream that also produces a laminar flow over the interior surfaces of a toilet bowl.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a hydraulic actuator for an articulated toilet seat that also produces a laminar fluid flow sheet on the surfaces of a toilet bowl.
Further objects of the invention are to provide a water flow operated toilet seat lowering device which also is useful to produce a laminar flow over the interior bowl surfaces.
Yet additional objects of the invention are to provide an structure for producing a backsplash controlling surface flow in a toilet bowl that cooperates with an automated sequence of seat lowering.
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by providing an air filled bellows spring mounted to oppose the articulation of a toilet seat, the bellows spring being connected with, and forming a common cavity with, the vacuum chamber of a conventional delay valve also mounted to be initiated by the pivoting of the seat. Thus once the seat is raised the resulting flow through the delay valve creates a partial vacuum therein, latching the delay valve to an open (on) state and also latching the bellows spring to its pulled in position. In this state the flow output from the delay valve is directed through an exit port aligned along the interior bowl surface, forming a laminar flow surface that modifies the net rebound kinematics of any flow associated with male urination. When, however, this water flow ends by the vacuum breaking timing mechanism customarily provided the spring bellows is free to vent releasing its opposing bias to displace the seat from its vertical equilibrium which then allows the seat to drop against the spring bias of two balance springs that control the seat return articulation.
Preferably, the delay period of the delay valve is selected to span a time interval that is greater than the typical interval of male urination, e.g., a minute or less, during which the water flow is directed tangentially onto the bowl surface to create a circular flow sheet therein. This circulating water flow sheet provides a tangential velocity component to any urination stream that may merge therewith, thereby limiting the kinematics of any backsplash to a dominantly tangential path. The circulating flow sheet, moreover, assists in maintaining a high level of cleanliness within the bowl thus further enhancing the utility of the instant invention These functions can be conveniently implemented by commercially available devices with the lifting articulation of the seat providing the necessary sequence initiation.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the circulation in a toilet bowl includes a component that is determined by the rotation of the Earth. Water conservation interests, in turn, require that the sheet flow be minimized. To optimize the benefit of the laminar sheet flow the tangential velocity thereof can be enhanced by selecting the exit flow alignment according to each hemisphere, conveniently effected by selecting the direction of a pivotal exit port in the form of a convolved exit pipe segment that is releasably connected to the delay valve. In this manner the orientation selection of a single element is utilized to expand the utility of the whole assembly.
It will be appreciated that toilet bowls with very little exception include an interior surface that promotes good surface flows towards the drain opening. This geometry compensates for the drag losses of the laminar sheet flow developed herein and as the flow rates drop off due to surface expansion the loss is then compensated by the gravitational effects. A simple, low volume water flow source is thus rendered effective over the whole of the bowl surface to alter the backsplash trajectory throughout the bowl.